Xakriabá (also written Chakriaba, Chikriaba, Shacriaba) is an extinct or dormant
Akuwẽ (Central Jê) language (
Jê,
Macro-Jê) formerly spoken in
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
by the
Xakriabá people, who today speak
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
.
The language is known through two short wordlists collected by
Augustin Saint-Hilaire
Augustin François César Prouvençal de Saint-Hilaire (4 October 17793 September 1853) was French botanist and traveller who was born and died in Orléans, France. A keen observer, he is credited with important discoveries in botany, notably the ...
and
Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege.
The last confirmed native speaker of the language died in 1864.
Phonology
Vowels
* /i/ can also be heard as
ªin shortened positions.
Consonants
* Sounds
is heard from /i/ before other vowels or within diphthongs.
* Sounds
ƒ Ê’are heard as allophones of /s z/.
* Sounds
ʃ dʒ ɲare heard as allophones of /t d n/ when palatalized before /i/.
*
¡can be heard as an allophone of /k/.
History
Before 1712, Xakriabá was originally spoken along the
São Francisco River near
São Romão
São Romão is a Brazilian municipality located in the north of the state of Minas Gerais. In 2020 the population was 12,529 in a total area of 2,432 km². It became a municipality in 1943.
History
Guaiba, an extinct Jê language, was on ...
,
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
(
Saint-Hilaire 2000: 340-341). The Xakriabá were then forced to migrate after being defeated by and other
Paulistas
Paulistas are the inhabitants of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, and of its antecessor the Capitaincy of São Vicente, whose capital early shifted from the village of São Vicente to the one of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga.
History
...
from 1690 onwards. In 1819, Saint-Hilaire (1975: 145)
[Saint-Hilaire, Auguste de. 1975. ''Viagem à provÃncia de Goiás''. Belo Horizonte: Editora Itatiaia.] noted that the Xakriabá of
Triângulo Mineiro
The Triângulo Mineiro (, '' Mineiro Triangle'') is the region that comprises the west part of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil.
It occupies an area of 93,500 km2 (slightly larger than Portugal or Hungary) and is bordered to the east by Serr ...
region spoke a
Xerente dialect.
[Ramirez, H., Vegini, V., & França, M. C. V. de. (2015)]
Koropó, puri, kamakã e outras lÃnguas do Leste Brasileiro
''LIAMES: LÃnguas IndÃgenas Americanas'', 15(2), 223 - 277.
References
Jê languages
Extinct languages of South America
Languages of Brazil
Languages extinct in the 1860s
{{Macro-Jê-lang-stub